Tampa, Florida (CNN) - The Republican Party's platform committee on Tuesday rejected a measure that would have expressed formal support for same-sex civil unions.

The platform committee, tasked with drafting the party's official list of principles and positions on a range of issues, is meeting in Tampa ahead of next week's GOP Convention.- Follow the Ticker on Twitter: @PoliticalTicker

Rhode Island delegate Barbara Fenton proposed the amendment. She said that as a 31-year-old, the party's longtime opposition to legal rights for same-sex couples is increasingly out-of-step with the beliefs of her friends and peers.

"For my own generation, a lot of times homosexuality isn't the biggest deal in the world anymore, and that's okay," Fenton told the 110-member committee and its chairman, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell.

Her proposal was seconded by a handful of people in the room - but two leading conservatives on the platform committee, Indiana's Jim Bopp and Louisiana's Tony Perkins, sternly argued against it.

soundoff(26 Responses)

Jerry D

They do not want Women to handle their own bodies, they do not want same sex couples to have the same rights, they do not want any
advancement for any peoples except for the filling of the coffers of the rich white men who run the party. This is your "R" party folks. Give me a reason why voting for any of them makes any sense. I will have the number to a good therapist handy, because you will be in desperate need of one. Just say NO to ALL with the "R", and make America a more complete, free and just nation please.